>> brian: cutting defense. >> we're probably going to cut defense. we're definitely raising taxes, payroll tax holiday is gone. we're raising taxes on everybody. do you want to do that at a time when the economy is fundamentally weak? raise taxes in a weak economy? not a good idea. this report in one hour is going to tell us an awful lot about the underlying state of our economy. >> brian: because of my unique position and what i made witness of hurricane sandy, i know you can not find an electrician. you can not find a plumber. you have to wait in line for a contractor. so anyone that says sandy wiped out jobs, you might have a point. they also gave a lot of jobs and a lot of the fema checks are up to $30,000. and they're building things and hiring people with that money. >> that is true. and next month when we get next -- december's unemployment report, you're going to see a blip up in number of jobs created because of what you're talking about. but in november, jobs were lost because of the hurricane, but not as many as to make up for a fundamenta